Tag Archives: theology

Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Careless Words (Part 2)

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Read: James 3:9-12

With [the tongue] we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. (v. 9)

As human beings we are created in God’s image, and God pronounced that “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Yet we are bombarded with pictures—through television, magazines, and online—that depict an unattainable standard of physical beauty. The average female fashion model is a size 2, but the average American woman is a size 14. The media depicts the ideal male body as extremely muscular, with chiseled abs, zero body fat, and a full head of hair. Many Americans see thousands of advertisements every day that insist we fight aging, lose weight, and appear perfect. Unfortunately, what we see in the mirror cannot match what the media insists we should look like.

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.K. – Guidelines for Life

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John Quincy Adams, sixth president of the United States, frequently wrote letters to his family when he was away from home. Adams penned this to his son in 1811: “So great is my veneration for the Bible, and so strong my belief, that when duly read and meditated on, it is of all books in the world that which contributes most to make men good, wise and happy.”

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you.

Ephesians 4:31

Scripture can be very specific about what makes men good and wise, or what defines them as evil and foolish. If tempers rise, men may react in anger, maligning one another with passionate outbursts of rage or sarcasm. Filthy words “grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” (Ephesians 4:30) You have a duty as a Christian, whose heart is tender to the Lord, to be an example – by your word and action – of what is right and pleasing in God’s eyes.

“Do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” (Ephesians 5:17) Apply His guidelines to your life. Then pray for those who lead this nation that they may seek to live in obedience to the will of God, tenderhearted and kind in word and deed.

Recommended Reading: Ephesians 4:1-3, 11-16

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Disciplines His Children in Love

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“And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.” (Hebrews 12:5-6)

“Susan!” yelled Grandpa from where he stood at the living room window. “The kids are outside playing with matches!”

Willy and Ellie heard him yell, but they did not have enough time to clean up the mess before Mom rushed outside to where they’d been hunched over the pile of kindling and matches.

“William! Ellen! What are you doing? You know you’re not supposed to play with fire!”

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Trusted Standards

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Today’s Scripture: John 14:15

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

A loving obedience to the commands of God is one clear evidence that we’re living by grace. Anyone who thinks, since God’s love is not conditioned on my obedience, I’m free to live as I please, is not living by grace, nor does he understand grace. What he perceives as grace is really a caricature.

Jesus said that if we love him, we’ll obey his commands. The term command suggests clear direction. We’re told what to do or not do. We are not left in doubt how we’re to live. The commands in the Bible provide a clear set of moral standards.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – The Work of Our Hands

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Today’s Scripture: Exodus 28-31

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. – 2 Corinthians 9:8

Today’s passage shows Moses demonstrating humility in what could have been a very sticky situation. His brother, Aaron, is appointed high priest, and his descendants after him will fill that role. At the same time, the descendants of Moses are assigned the menial work of the Levite. They carried the Tabernacle about from place to place. They became janitors. They put up the tent. They assisted the priests in their various responsibilities, yet Moses didn’t balk at this arrangement. It is clear evidence of his humble spirit and sincere commitment to the glory of God.

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BreakPoint

BreakPoint – How Can You Maintain a Christian Worldview in a Post-Modern Culture?

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I meet folks all the time who sense that things have changed. What Francis Schaeffer and Chuck Colson once called “a post-Christian” culture has become a “post-Christian-and-darn-proud-of-it” culture. Living out your faith is, well, difficult these days. And it’s frustrating.

Yet here we are. We, like every other generation of Christ followers, are still called to share our faith in this cultural moment. We’re still called to live our faith out in our communities, places of work, neighborhoods, etc. But how do we do this?

The most important thing, Chuck Colson believed, was to be equipped in Christian worldview, with the ability to communicate it in what he sometimes called “prudential language.” Here’s Chuck describing what that means.

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – ANSWERED PROMISES

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Read 2 Corinthians 1:12-22

Sophia Kichou was a homeless teenager who turned to Centrepoint, a London organization that supports young people with housing and health care. Prince William is a patron of Centrepoint; when she was 18 years old Sophia met him and shared her dream of becoming a journalist. The prince said he would give her an interview when she reached her goals. Last December, he fulfilled that six-year-old promise, inviting Sophia to Kensington Palace and giving her an exclusive interview.

Promises reveal our character. Do we make them quickly and forget to follow through? Or do we refuse to promise anything, unwilling to be bound by any commitments? As our text today tells us, God has made us many incredibly wonderful promises—and He fulfills them all in Christ.

The apostle Paul was facing charges from some in the church in Corinth that he was fickle, untrustworthy, and unreliable. Part of their accusation seems to be that Paul had intended to visit the church on a trip to Macedonia, but he was unable to see them as he had planned (vv. 15–17). Paul appeals to the perfect plan of God as part of his defense. Even when our human plans are derailed, God’s plan and promise for us remain secure.

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Denison Forum

Denison Forum – WHY ARE SATANIC TEMPLE AND QUEEN ELIZABETH IN THE NEWS?

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I cannot imagine writing on two more dissimilar stories in today’s news.

The Satanic Temple (TST) is a movement that began in 2013. The group now has seventeen chapters in the U.S. and Europe and claims an estimated 100,000 members. Its members have created satanic coloring books for distribution in Florida and Colorado schools, offered prayers to Satan at a Seattle high school football game, and demanded that a satanic statue be erected next to a monument to the Ten Commandments at the Oklahoma State Capitol.

TST has been in the news lately due to its efforts to inspire a “satanic revolution.” The group has been holding rallies—the most recent was in Austin, Texas—to further its cause.

Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth turned ninety last week. She is the longest reigning monarch in England’s long history. She had a conference with President Obama the day after her birthday and has met twelve American presidents. The queen has watched her country change in dramatic ways. Yet she remains an amazing force for good in the U.K. and beyond.

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Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Praying the Promises of God

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Isaiah 40:8

Jesus made it clear that we would endure many hardships in this life. But God provided amazing tools to keep trials from overwhelming us. For instance, He placed His Spirit inside each believer to guide and empower. In addition, He gave us prayer so we could not only communicate and stay connected with our Father but also bring Him our requests.

Today I want to focus on yet another one of His marvelous gifts: the Bible. Scripture is the actual Word of God Almighty. It is truth. It never changes. It enables us in all circumstances, so we have a sure foundation on which to base our lives and decisions.

There are thousands of promises in the Bible—countless assurances that we can rely on with perfect confidence. God wants us to learn them so we won’t miss out on blessings He wants to give. And wise believers will turn His promises into prayers, which they express as the cry of their heart.

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Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Relief for the Troubled

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Read: 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12

Bible in a Year: 2 Samuel 19-20; Luke 18:1-23

[God will] give relief to you who are troubled. —2 Thessalonians 1:7

One of my favorite scenes in literature occurs when a feisty aunt confronts an evil stepfather over the abuse of her nephew, David Copperfield. This scene takes place in Charles Dickens’ novel named after the main character.

When David Copperfield shows up at his aunt’s house, his stepfather is not far behind. Aunt Betsy Trotwood is not pleased to see the malicious Mr. Murdstone. She recounts a list of offenses and does not let him slither out of his responsibility for each act of cruelty. Her charges are so forceful and truthful that Mr. Murdstone—a normally aggressive person—finally leaves without a word. Through the strength and goodness of Aunt Betsy’s character, David finally receives justice.

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John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Strength for Today – The Resurrection: A Belief That Matters

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“How do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?” (1 Corinthians 15:12).

Without the truth of bodily resurrection, the Christian faith would not make sense.

Even though Paul and the other apostles made the resurrection of Christ and His followers from the dead a central part of the gospel message, some new Gentile converts (the Corinthians especially) had difficulty accepting the idea of bodily resurrection. That struggle resulted mainly from the effects of Greek dualism, which viewed the spiritual as inherently good and the physical as inherently bad. Under that belief, a physical resurrection was considered quite repulsive.

The only way for the doubting Gentiles to accommodate their dualism was to say that Jesus was divine but not truly human. Therefore, He only appeared to die, and His appearances between the crucifixion and ascension were manifestations that merely seemed to be bodily. But Paul knew that was bad doctrine. He wrote to the Romans, “Concerning His Son . . . born of the seed of David according to the flesh . . . declared with power to be the Son of God by the resurrection from the dead” (Rom. 1:3-4).

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Wisdom Hunters

Wisdom Hunters – Spiritually Mixed Marriage 

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They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.   Ezra 9:2

Marriage is between a man and a woman, and Christian marriage is between two Christians. This is God’s plan, and attempts to circumvent His plan can lead to watered down faith and a lifestyle lived contrary to Christian principles. This is the risk you take if you marry someone who is not a committed follower of Jesus Christ. Christian marriage already has plenty of challenges without the added confusion brought on by mixed belief systems and values. Two contrasting faiths are like blending oil and water. It doesn’t work, and it creates a mess.

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Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Spiritually Mixed Marriage 

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They have taken some of their daughters as wives for themselves and their sons, and have mingled the holy race with the peoples around them. And the leaders and officials have led the way in this unfaithfulness.   Ezra 9:2

Marriage is between a man and a woman, and Christian marriage is between two Christians. This is God’s plan, and attempts to circumvent His plan can lead to watered down faith and a lifestyle lived contrary to Christian principles. This is the risk you take if you marry someone who is not a committed follower of Jesus Christ. Christian marriage already has plenty of challenges without the added confusion brought on by mixed belief systems and values. Two contrasting faiths are like blending oil and water. It doesn’t work, and it creates a mess.

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Ray Stedman

Ray Stedman – Enjoying our Priesthood

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Read: Leviticus 22

Keep my commands and follow them. I am the Lord. Do not profane my holy name, for I must be acknowledged as holy by the Israelites. I am the Lord, who made you holy and who brought you out of Egypt to be your God. I am the Lord. Lev 22:31-33

What tenderness and compassion there is in those verses! I am the LORD, he says, who brought you out of bondage, out of slavery. I set you free. And I want to heal your life and bring you into a land of abundance and promise, of excitement and blessing and fruitfulness, with a sense of worth and power, and to be your God, to be available to you to teach you how to live as men were ordained to live in the beginning — in dominion over all the earth, over all the powers and principalities that exist in the universe, and to walk as free people, healed and whole. That is why I speak to you this way, the LORD says. That is why at times I will not allow you to exercise ministry even though you want to, until you deal with the blemishes of your life. When they are healed, then your ministry can begin.

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Words of Hope

Words of Hope – Daily Devotional – Careless Words (Part 1)

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Read: James 3:1-8

But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. (v. 8)

Our words have power. We don’t realize how much power our words have. James did. He warns his readers continuously to guard their tongues; to be mindful of what they say. And in today’s passage, he says that our tongue is “a small member, yet it boasts” (v. 5); it “is a fire, a world of unrighteousness . . . set on fire by hell” (v. 6), and “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (v. 8). Whoa. That’s serious!

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Presidential Prayer Team

Presidential Prayer Team; J.R. – Sow Sorry

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Depending on what you believe, he was shot by a hired killer at a house in Detroit and his remains cremated – or he was dispatched with a hunting knife and then buried in a 55-gallon drum…which was then placed in an old car, crushed in a compactor and sent to Japan as scrap metal. Or he was buried under a residential driveway. Or he was interred in a shallow grave in a field near a restaurant. Or he was entombed in concrete beneath the end zone at the stadium in Meadowlands, New Jersey.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

Whatever you believe, no one has been able to prove what happened to Jimmy Hoffa, the infamous Teamsters boss and mafia figure who disappeared in 1975. What is almost certain is that somebody did to him what he had very likely ordered done to others.

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Kids 4 Truth

Kids 4 Truth International – God Won’t Let Sin Make Us Happy

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“The hope of the righteous shall be gladness: but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.” (Proverbs 10:28)

Jamie and Uncle Mike climbed into the big red Ford F150. The tackleboxes were between them on the seat. As Uncle Mike drove them to the lot on the lake where their favorite fishing alcove was, Jamie opened up one of the tackleboxes to take a look at the lures. There were all kinds, some of them knobby or slimy, some feathery, some glossy. And all of them were colorful! Jamie especially liked the brand new jitterbugs Uncle Mike had bought down in Florida last month. As the truck rumbled to a stop in the gravel by the boat ramp, Jamie had a bright idea. While Uncle Mike got busy cranking down the fishing boat, Jamie got busy picking out the fanciest, smoothest, reddest (because red was his favorite color) jitterbug for himself. Without a sound, Jamie shoved the lure in his jeans pocket and went out to help Uncle Mike put the gear in the boat.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Jerry Bridges – Holiness Day by Day Devotional – Grounded in Mercy

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Today’s Scripture: Titus 3:5

“He saved us . . . according to his own mercy.”

It was in view of God’s mercy that Paul urged us to commit our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God (Romans 12:1). Undoubtedly Paul had in mind the mercy of God as he had displayed it in the preceding chapters of Romans. He could have been thinking of the righteousness of God that comes to us by faith, of justification freely by his grace through the redemption that’s in Christ Jesus, or of God presenting Jesus as a propitiation for our sins that turns aside God’s just and holy wrath from us.

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The Navigators

The Navigators – Leroy Eims – Daily Discipleship Devotional – We’re in This Together

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Today’s Scripture: 2 Corinthians 1-5

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up. – Ephesians 4:11-12

I know some people who feel that Christian ministry is the job of the pastor and the paid church staff. The rest of us are like spectators in the bleachers. We cheer on the team, but we don’t play the game.

How do you think the apostle Paul viewed the Christian ministry? Here are his words from 2 Corinthians 4:1: “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.” Then in verse 7, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.”

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Moody Global Ministries

Moody Global Ministries – Today in the Word – SPIRIT LIVING WITHIN

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Read Romans 8:14

The character Superman can fly faster than a speeding bullet and leap tall buildings in a single bound. But Superman uses the alter ego of mild- mannered reporter Clark Kent to veil his true identity. Clark Kent is unobtrusive, wearing inconspicuous clothes—until Superman needs to save the day. Then he hurriedly pulls off his dress shirt to reveal the large “S” emblazoned on Superman’s uniform.

For the rest of our study this month we’ll focus on the ways that we are blessed in Christ. An essential part of our identity is the blessing of the Holy Spirit, who indwells our hearts. Though we might look like everyone else around us, in reality we have the power of God’s Spirit in our lives, shaping our true identity to look more like Jesus. Unlike Superman and Clark Kent, however, we don’t have to keep our true identity a secret.

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